Hey, who knew? It’s officially confirmed, though. Dave Bautista told Digital Spy all about it. Said Bautista, as an explanation for why he chose to appear in Zack Snyder’s ARMY OF THE DEAD instead of James Gunn’s THE SUICIDE SQUAD (He couldn’t do both because they were filming at the same time.): “I get to build a relationship with Netflix, I get a lead role in a great film—and I get paid a lot more money…I had to call James [Gunn], and I told him, ‘It breaks my heart, because as a friend, I want to be there with you, but professionally, this is the smart decision for me.’ [Gunn] said, ‘I completely get it. I’m proud of you that you’re even in this position. I’m proud that I had something to do with you being in this position where you have to make these hard decisions.’”
I’m happy for the guy, too. He seems like a really solid dude, and I’ve been a fan since his wrestling days, when he debuted as “Deacon Batista”. And Bautista has said that he doesn’t want to be like the Rock, Duane Johnson, meaning a guy who always plays the big macho tough guy. Bautista actually wants to *act*. I got mad respect for that. Who’d have thunk it, though, that he’d get paid more for doing ARMY OF THE DEAD than he would have for THE SUICIDE SQUAD? I’d have expected it to be the opposite.